Angels, Soldiers, Criminals

You're a Prisoner

As soon as the Doctor had headed off through the thick mass of trees after River and Father Octavian, Evie stood up. She kept hold of Amy's hand, staring out through the trees. Quickly she made a mental note of the possible blind spots the Clerics could have, where the Angels could get through to them.

"Amy… I'll be a couple of minutes, OK? I need to make sure that everywhere's covered properly."

"No, Evie!" She complained. "Don't go."

"Two, three minutes tops. I promise." She replied gently, prising her hand free of her grandmother's.

Moving away, the girl tramped over the undergrowth, her eyes darting in every direction as she looked for Weeping Angels. Occasionally the Clerics would give a shout, alerting the others to the presence of another of the creatures, but Evie saw none. She backed towards Amy, not stopping her gaze wandering around the clearing.

As she got nearer, she heard Amy cry out, "Doctor?"

Forgetting to keep her eyes out for angels, Evie whirled around and ran the rest of the short distance back towards her grandmother in the middle of the clearing. She dropped to her knees in front of Amy and grasped her hands tightly.

"The Doctor? He's with River and Octavian… they've gone to look for the Primary Flight Deck."

"What? No… he was here. A second ago… he told me to remember what he told me when I was seven."

Gently, Evie moved to sit on the rock beside Amy and wrapped an arm around her firmly. "What was that?"

"You were there." Amy said with a hint of amusement in her voice. "Have you forgotten already?"

Evie grinned. "It was a while ago for me and he does talk a lot!"

They both giggled a little at that, before settling back into uneasy silence once more. Amy kept her eyes clamped shut and Evie kept hers wide open, staring around for any sign of trouble.

"So? What's going on? Why are you here… with River and the Clerics?" The older girl asked after a couple of moments of silence. Evie glanced at her, raising an eyebrow. Then she sighed and shook her head, realising that Amy couldn't see her.

"It's a long story… have you heard of the Stormcage Containment Facility?" Amy shook her head. "It's a fifty-first century prison."

"What?"

"Yeah… I live in prison." Evie said bluntly, shrugging. "Father Octavian had special permission for us to leave to help him with this mission and then, when we've completed it, we're back in our cell."

"You're a prisoner, eh?" The red-head said with a slight smirk. "Well, that explains a lot."

Evie nudged her gently in the ribs. "Rude! Like what?"

"Like how good you are with that gun of yours for one!"

"Fair point!" The brunette conceded, grinning.

"So… that's how you know River?"

"Mmm…" Evie avoided answering the question by standing up abruptly at the sound of someone crashing around in the undergrowth.

"The Angels are still grouping." Marco, the Cleric Father Octavian had left in charge, told them. He didn't turn, keeping his eyes fixed on the creatures. The light given off by the trees started flashing and Evie groaned. "Are you getting this too?"

"The trees? Yeah." Another of the Clerics answered.

Amy moved her head, trying to work out what they meant. "What's wrong with the trees?"

"The Angels are attacking them." Evie told her, as calmly as she could.

"Here too, sir. They're ripping the Treeborgs apart."

"And here. They're taking out the lights."

"What is it? What's happening? Tell me. I can't see." Amy was starting to panic now with all the Clerics noticing the same thing. Evie gripped her hand more tightly, shuffling closer along the rock.

"It's the trees, ma'am. The trees are going out." Marco said simply.

"Don't panic, Amy." Evie said in a low voice, not really comforting herself but trying to make her grandmother feel better nevertheless. "They're still a long way off. We've got a while and the Doctor and River won't just leave us here. OK?"

The older woman nodded, but was nowhere near reassured. She clung onto Evie like a limpet, unable to see. That, though, had heightened Amy's hearing and she could hear every rustle and creak as though it was coming from close beside her.

The Clerics did as he said. Evie tried to keep Amy as calm as possible, her eyes moving between the Clerics and beyond, to where the Weeping Angels were appearing through the trees. Each spell of darkness was more pronounced and lasted longer. With a sinking feeling, Evie began to realise that it wouldn't be long until the creatures caught up with them.

Without warning and completely out of nowhere, a bright white light erupted through the trees. Unable to help herself, Evie stared at it, her gaze moving from the Angels to examine it closely. Her mouth fell open as she looked at the source of the sudden illumination.

"The ship's not on fire, is it?" Marco asked, dazed.

"It can't be. The compressors would have taken care of it." One of the other Clerics said. Then, there was a moment of stunned silence. "Marco, the Angels have gone. Where'd they go?"

"What, the Angels?" Amy asked. Evie glanced around and realised that it was true. Not a single Angel could be seen anywhere. They had simply disappeared. If anything, however, this made the girl more nervous.

"They can't have just GONE." She pointed out, releasing her grip on Amy's arm and moving away a little to have a closer look. The red-head's hold on her hand tightened, as though she thought the younger girl was going to leave her completely.

"This side's clear too, sir."

Amy was confused, as was her granddaughter. "The Angels have gone?"

"There's still movement out there, but away from us now. It's like they're running." Marco said, checking his hand-held computer.

"Running from what?" Amy asked.

"Or TO what?" Evie questioned, tilting her head to one side and narrowing her eyes slightly. She had a feeling she knew what the answers to those questions were.

"Phillip, Crispin, need to get a closer look at that." Marco ordered, pointing towards the light.

Two of the Clerics left their positions and ran towards the strange glow. Now it was just Amy, Evie, Marco and one more Cleric left. Uneasily, the brunette shifted on the balls of her feet, watching the retreating soldiers with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Amy was pulling on her hand, like a small child who wanted more information.

"I don't think they should have done that…" She muttered, staring at Marco.

He turned and looked at her briefly. "In all due respect, Miss, I give the orders."

"What are you all looking at? What's there?" Amy demanded, preventing Evie from replying. Instead she contented herself with scowling darkly at him.

The four of them were standing in a line, the two soldiers and Evie were staring at the light, while Amy stood a little off, staring just to the left of it. As they watched, she started manoeuvring herself, evidently trying to face the right direction. Evie placed a hand on her arm, guiding her round.

"What are you doing?" Marco questioned her, a bemused look on his face.

"Point me at the light."

"You can't open your eyes."

"I can't open them for more than a second, that's what the Doctor said." Amy told him firmly, recalling the Time Lord's words. "Still got a bit of countdown left."

"Two seconds, Amy." Evie confirmed biting her lip. "It's risky."

Marco was alarmed by the prospect; this was evident by the look on his face. "Ma'am, you can't. Miss Robinson… can't you talk her out of it?"

"No… as long as she doesn't keep her eyes open too long she should be fine… Amy, you understand that it has to be less than two seconds, yeah?"

Amy nodded. "I need to see it. Am I looking the right way? I have to be quick."

"Very quick!"

"OK…" She opened her eyes, staring at the bright light. Immediately she recognised it. "It's the same shape! It's the crack in my wall."

Evie grabbed her arm, anxiously. "Amy! That's enough!"

"Close your eyes. Now!" Marco ordered.

She ignored him, keeping them trained on the crack. "It's following me! How can it be following me?"

As she slumped to the floor, Marco covered her face with his hand, forcing her eyelids to close. Evie knelt beside her, one arm wrapped around Amy's shoulders as she watched her thoughtfully. The women's eyes had been open for longer than she should have been able to manage. Something had stopped the Angel taking over. And Evie thought that that something was almost definitely the crack and the light pouring from it.

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